


Casanova Case

by acuteneurosis



Series: Caught in the Act [20]
Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Birthday, Childhood Friends, Coincidences, Disappointment, Gen, Underage Drinking, Walk Into A Bar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-02-28 06:40:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18751054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acuteneurosis/pseuds/acuteneurosis
Summary: His past has always haunted him, tonight it just decided to up its game. Happy birthday.





	Casanova Case

**Author's Note:**

> Vol 3 Act 14

Ten at night and Ren was trying to convince himself that all of his reasons for being here were not just lame excuses. He glanced up and down the bar with a grim, sullen look, one hand shoved unceremoniously into his pocket.

He should not get another drink.

Technically, he shouldn't really be here at all. "Not the right style for Tsuruga Ren," Yashiro had said in a too calm way when Ren had named the bar he was going to visit. "I mean, I would expect Kijima to recommend it, but I don't think you'll find anything there that will interest you, Ren."

He'd gone anyway. And now, he was definitely regretting it. He'd come here mostly at Kuon's prompting, and it wasn't even Kuon's kind of place. Big mistake.

The only mercy was that Kijima was not here tonight, so Ren was able to politely dismiss all of the other people that had tried to approach him. He shouldn't have worn the white suit. It gave people the wrong impression.

He had wanted to be alone tonight.

"What, seriously?" a woman's voice carried across the room.

Ren glanced up to the sound of raucous laughter, centered around a young man entertaining several women. The boy was probably only barely old enough to be here, and maybe not quite that old. He might have gotten in on pure charm. Bleach blonde hair, leather, decked out in gaudy jewelry, he was clearly still working through his teenage identity crisis into attempted manhood.

The ladies at least looked old enough for this place. One of them poured a glass and waved it in front of the young man, luring him in for a quick kiss before she handed it over. Ren wasn't sure if it was him or Kuon that wanted to growl in distaste.

The smart thing to do would have been to leave just then. But just as he was getting ready to overcome the siren call of another drink, the bartender asked if he wanted anything else and Ren succumbed.

It was his birthday, after all. Well, tomorrow, but who was counting?

The crowd got noisier as he lingered over the drink, but the dim lights and rising volume helped to bring the numbness he had been looking for.

_Happy birthday to me_ , he thought bitterly.  _Another year, utterly wasted_.

Alright, this was about the worst he had been wasted in several years. He'd gotten a lot better about that. And his year had been pretty productive overall.

He had worked himself out of the worst of his pity party and was just about to leave when an unexpected customer walked through the door. This one was definitely underage, and it looked like the bartender was about to send her on her way, but she hadn't made a move to come any further in. She was looking around at the people, clutching of all things what looked like a homemade lunchbox. Nervous, disheveled, and somewhat defeated looking, her eyes quickly found the young blonde and his cohort.

Mild disappointment became heartbreak and resignation in a blink of those gold eyes.

"You lost?" Ren asked, stepping forward before the bartender could, trying to convey an altruistic aura and also cutting off her view of that far corner. She seemed to stare through him, still picturing it for a moment, before she looked up at him and smiled sadly.

"Yeah, I think I've lost." Her hands clenched around the lunchbox and she glanced around, suddenly nervous. "Sorry, I shouldn't be here, should I?"

Ren shook his head. "You're a bit young for a place like this," he said gently. Because Tsuruga Ren was always, always gentle.

It was Kuon's idea to go punch the kid in the corner senseless.

"Young," she repeated, drawing Ren's attention back. "Yeah, I was probably too young for all this."

His fists clenched suddenly as the dozens of possible implications of those words danced through his mind, almost making him lose composure. But her expression became acutely pained and a completely different desire hit him then that he hadn't experienced in more than ten years. He wanted to hold her and promise everything would be alright, a gesture he repressed now as he had back then. Because stupid Japanese propriety getting in the way of just  _comforting_  someone with a gesture as harmless as a hug, or just using their  _name_ -

Yeah, that was Kuon again. Deep breath, shouldn't have had that last drink.

"Do you need a ride home?" Because that couldn't possibly be less appropriate than reaching out to his strange girl and hugging her, no. She was surprised and gave him a cautious look.

"No thank you, I think I'll be alright," she said calmly. "I made it here just fine."

Trying not to imagine how many places she had checked already or how long she had been out, late at night, by herself (and curse Kuon for being too much like his father and ready to run to the rescue of any female) or how much longer she would have to be out before she could make it home, Ren allowed his brow to furrow slightly. "Then be careful on your way back. It's pretty late."

As she turned to go, he felt compelled to offer, "I could walk you somewhere."

Did buses run this late? Was walking less creepy than offering a ride? Was anyone going to call him out for being the most famous actor in Japan and offering to escort a high school aged girl out of a club? He felt like someone should.

Like maybe, himself?

"No thank you," the girl repeated firmly. "I'll be just fine."

He watched her leave and knew the instant the door swung shut behind her he shouldn't have let her go. But he made the mistake of turning back towards the bartender, who was also giving him a  _look_ , and Ren decided that he'd made enough of a fool of himself for the time being. He paid up, restrained himself to a contemptible glare towards the kid in the corner, and took off.

Since he was drunk enough to make the mistake of looking like he was soliciting high school girls, he went for a walk until he was sure his head was clear. Then, after an interesting adventure in trying to find his way back to where he had come from, he made it safely to his car and started the drive home.

Which would have ended a lot better if he hadn't been distracted, taken a few dozen wrong turns, and pulled over in a fit of frustration at his guilty conscience for making him worry about the young woman.

Who, naturally, was standing outside his window when he glanced up, looking slightly horrified.

Of course. Happy birthday to Ren.

Seeing no reasonable course of action at this point, and with the girl still not moving from apparent shock, Ren got out of the car, catching her gaze over the vehicle instead of coming around to try and give her space.

"Look," he said in a rather tight voice, "I know that you have no reason to believe me, but I just found you on accident. If you'll let me, I'd like to help."

Watching for her reaction he noticed that in the intervening hour or so she had exchanged the lunchbox for a heavy looking bag and a box of assorted stuff. He knew what running away looked like. He'd left home with even less. Knowing how painful it could be helped him hold his ground as the young woman gave him a very critical lookover.

"You aren't acting  _very_  drunk," she said at last, slowly and carefully as if the lack of the symptoms of inebriation were not completely reassuring to her. Ren tried not to think about where she'd gotten a scale to measure drunkenness. "But I don't know why you're offering to help me."

Oof, wasn't that a loaded question. Willing to blame his risky answers on still being just the slightest bit tipsy, Ren answered, "Someone got me out of a bad situation once. I can't return the favor, but I can pass it along."

She thought about that for a moment. And sighed. "I was going to try and catch the train back," she mumbled. "But I don't think I have the money and I don't think I'd be welcome."

Ignoring his complete ignorance over what she was talking about, and the fact that it was now 2am and trains wouldn't be going anywhere for another four hours, Ren asked, "Is there anyone you know who would keep you for just tonight?"

Her eyes said  _no_  with a crushing conviction, but she hesitated. "I could try the Darumaya," she offered hesitantly.

"Where's that?" The answer was essentially  _not close to here_  so with a smidge of extra persuasion, Ren loaded her worldly possessions into the back of his car, prayed that no one with a camera had been following him around tonight, and held the door while his charge got in. She gave him brief, concise directions to a small restaurant, relaxing as the minutes passed and he maintained an aloof, practical demeanor. It was still absurdly early as she approached the building and knocked on the side door, Ren holding her bag and trying to melt into the background.

After another round of knocking, a woman opened the door with a surprised, "Kyoko-chan!" and Ren (or maybe it was Kuon) twitched slightly.

Because of course she was a "Kyoko-chan."

A brief explanation was given, leaving out basically all details except for the fact that Kyoko was homeless and needed a place to stay tonight. Ren caught sight of a man lurking in the background, giving a gruff scowl. Ren's first reaction was defensive, but the subtle change in expression as the older man spotted Ren was reassuring. The taisho, as Kyoko-chan addressed him, may have had a hard look for the young girl, but he had a threatening one for the gentleman behind her. Which suggested the gruff look was more concern than anger. Kyoko-chan had picked well.

The wife said she would go find a futon and told Kyoko-chan to hand her box to the taisho, who would bring it upstairs. Doing as she was bid, Kyoko-chan turned back to Ren, reaching for her bag. Since he hadn't been invited in, Ren reluctantly handed it over, wishing he could take it up the stairs for her. She was rather small.

"Thank you," Kyoko-chan whispered as she accepted her things. "I'm sorry for troubling you so much."

"No trouble," he answered calmly. "Glad I could be of service."

He'd barely done anything.

Her blush and stammering told him she didn't see it quite the same way, but as her thanks were more effacing than effusive he found it a bit refreshing. Although certainly startling.

"No really," he tried again, "I didn't do hardly anything at all."

"Are you always rescuing girls like this?" she asked in surprise, apparently misunderstanding his casual dismissal of events.

"Hardly. Rescuing damsels isn't my forte."

That brought an odd expression to her face for a moment. Almost excited, but quickly extinguished. "Well, this damsel thanks you," she said with a mock curtsey, carefully balancing the bag as she dipped. Ren bowed, bringing one arm across his chest, hand in a fist, and pulling the other arm behind his back.

"My pleasure, Kyoko-chan."

That seemed to throw her more off balance. "Mogami Kyoko," she offered quickly. "My name is Mogami."

Mogami? That had his brain stirring. Mogami Kyoko, Mogami Kyoko, Mogami Kyoko-

Chan.

" _Of_   _course_."


End file.
